Case of hepatitis A confirmed at Citrus County Primary Elementary

LECANTO, Fla. - It’s a warning you’ve heard over and over again: wash your hands after you use the restroom.

Experts say handwashing is the best way to prevent the spread of hepatitis A, which spread across Florida in 2019 in record numbers. Counties across the state reported dozens of new cases every month.

“Hepatitis A is still prevalent in the state of Florida. We’re still under a public health emergency,” explained Ernesto Rubio with Citrus County's health department.

But with a new year comes new cases; this time at Crystal River Primary Elementary. One case has been confirmed.

Earlier this week, parents were notified by the school that one of the students at Crystal River Primary tested positive for hepatitis A. Since then, parents have been calling the health department to ask if their kids are at risk.

An email went to parents, encouraging them to watch for symptoms.

“It’s flu-like. What you’re going to see is fever, runny nose, cough. The big one there is if you start seeing diarrhea or you start seeing some jaundice,” Rubio explained.

The good news is there’s an easy solution.

“With this virus, the thing is vaccination. If you vaccinate your child you have nothing to worry about,” Rubio said.

And vaccinations can be administered within a certain time period after exposure.

Citrus County health officials say cases are on the decline and - for students and staff at the school - there isn’t a major cause for concern.

“We’ve done our investigation and determined that the workers and children at the school are at very low risk,” Rubio said, adding it's still better to be safe than sorry.

For information about hepatits A and vaccinations in Citrus County, visit http://citrus.floridahealth.gov/.